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By Siyabonga Mkhwanazi 
22h ago
Pretoria – The National Treasury stands firm to cut the public sector wage bill and argues that its proposals to freeze the salaries of public servants should be seen in the context of the difficult economic conditions facing the country.
The acting head of the National Treasury’s budget office, Edgar Sishi, told MPS yesterday that they want to freeze the wages of public sector workers.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni told Parliament last week when he presented the Medium-term Budget Policy Statement that the Treasury wants to cut the wage bill by R300 billion over the next four years.
Mboweni also said that they wanted to reduce the salaries of ministers, MECS and councilors to free up funds in the fiscus due to escalating debt and budget deficits.
Sishi told MPS that the wage bill had increased over the past 15 years. “We have gone from a situation in which public servants receive an increase less than economic growth to a situation in which public servants now receive an increase in their salaries that significantly exceeds economic growth.” South Africa was in a tight fiscal space, if something was not done it would make the situation worse.
“We believe that we, as a government, should take a close look at the tax situation we are in. It is not always appropriate to make these kinds of comparisons, but if you run a business and have the kind of numbers that we have right now, you he will make very different kinds of decisions than some of the decisions he made in the past, “said Sishi.
The goal is to cut R60bn in 2021/22, R90bn in 2022/23 and R150bn in 2023/24 from the public sector wage bill, starting with not implementing the 2020 increases that were part of a 2018 wage deal.
Cosatu and its affiliates have rejected proposals to freeze wages.
The National Union of Education, Health and Allied Workers is planning a major strike in Pretoria and Cape Town on November 26 in response to the government’s decision to freeze public sector wages.
Pretoria News
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